Net Global Gold Sales in 2007 Reach 488 Tons

Gold sales retuned to their “normal levels” in 2007, despite the sharp rise in prices, according to GFMS in a report prepared for Société Générale. Net official sector sales in 2007 are estimated to have reached 488 tons, up by a third year-over-year.

According to the report, the seemingly dramatic increase came from an unusually low base in 2006.

Gross sales reached 552 tons. Approximately 94 percent of it was accounted by sales from Central Bank Gold Agreement (CBGA) members. The biggest seller from the European group was Switzerland. Over the June-December period, the Swiss National Bank released 145 tons of gold into the market. At year-end, the country’s gold reserves stood at around 1,145 tons.

Based on IMF statistics, the largest sales outside the CBGA came from the Philippines, which sold a net 14 tons through to the end of October.